Breaking the Mold
by The Yank and The Brit
Summary: What motivated Joe to ‘move-in’ to Steph’s apartment with her and Ranger during Twelve Sharp? Rating for language.


**Disclaimer:** The characters from the world of Stephanie Plum are the sole property of the author: Janet Evanovich. We only borrowed them to help enhance our story, and do not wish to make money off of them. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

**Summary:** What motivated Joe to 'move-in' to Steph's apartment with her and Ranger during Twelve Sharp?

**Time Frame:** During Twelve Sharp.

**Author's Notes:** This story was written in response to a challenge where we had to use the words: Blood, Heart, Innocent, Hate and Bars, and use the scenario that someone gets an unexpected surprise. We decided to write a story from Joe's POV in during Twelve Sharp. The story starts around Chapter 14, with the phone conversation between Joe and Steph, only this time from Joe's POV.

**ooo000ooo**

**BreakingThe Mold**

**By The Yank and The Brit**

What a hell of a day. Between work and my personal life, it's a wonder I don't put a bullet right between my eyes.

I unlocked my front door and without thinking started to enter through the house, only to be tackled by a big heavy orange ball of fur. Bob, my dog, drooled on me as a way of greeting, and then instead of going to the front yard like he usually did, he jumped off of me and went back inside.

This was odd behavior, especially for Bob. Usually he'd eaten something that had him running out to do his business.

I closed and locked my front door, then followed Bob through to the kitchen. As I walked, I made a quick inventory of the house; it appeared, at first glance, that he'd behaved himself today. Nothing was destroyed, at least not that I could see downstairs. Instead, Bob sat in front of my backdoor patiently waiting for me to let him out into the backyard.

As I opened the door to let him out, I stared up at the sky. Was it a full moon or something? Before I could get the answer to my question, my cell phone rang. I looked at the number and scowled. I loved this woman, but I didn't know if I was truly up for a conversation with her right now.

Then again, maybe with a little persuasion, Steph could help make my bad day a lot better, especially since my mood was partly her fault.

"Long time no see." I tried to keep my tone neutral.

"Miss me?" No matter how mad I was with her, the sound of her voice always sent a twinge of excitement coursing straight to my groin.

And of course I missed her, but I didn't like the fact that she was hanging out with Manoso, instead of going down that path again, I tried a different tact. "No, Joyce Barnhardt is here with her trained dogs."

"You're not going to get me going on that one. You hate Joyce Barnhardt." I could almost see her rolling her eyes at me.

I couldn't help but smile. No matter how much she pissed me off, we still seemed to have an easy way of talking to each other. "Yeah, but Bob might like the dog part."

"I just took down the old lady who runs the porn shop on Twelfth. Tank tried to help me, and she kicked him in the nuts."

I almost burst out laughing. Big huge Tank, being flattened by a little old grandma. "I'm sorry I missed it. I'm not being sarcastic either. I'm really sorry I missed it." Then as I realized that she'd spent the day with Tank, I was quickly reminded of the danger she was in. One of the reasons my mood was so sour lately. "I assume you've got a full contingent of Ranger's Merry Men watching your back."

"Yep. Mostly I pick up vigilantes, but we think Scrog followed me for awhile this afternoon."

As my temper simmered just below the surface, I let Bob back in the house and came very close to slamming the back door shut. I was trying very hard to forget that she was a target, a willing pawn in Manoso's game. "Ranger called it in to me, and we determined that the car was stolen. I reached the parking garage shortly after Ranger. Scrog slipped through my fingers too."

"Will you be at Carmen's viewing tomorrow?"

I wasn't sure if she was trying to keep the conversation from moving towards Manoso or not, but I went along with it. "Yeah. We've called in the National Guard to help with crowd control." I made my way upstairs, with Bob following close behind.

"You haven't!" I could hear the exasperation mixed with hesitation in her voice as if she was contemplating whether or not I would really do that.

"No, but we probably should." I didn't tell her that I wanted to fill that room with an army of plain clothes, but we didn't have enough budget, nor was keeping my girlfriend safe enough justification, either. "I was getting ready to go to bed." I tried to hide my fears and annoyance with a bit of innuendo, "I don't suppose you want to join me?" What I didn't add was that I really needed her in my arms tonight. That I wanted to know that she was safe, and that I was the one protecting her. But I knew better than to push too hard; it would only send her running in the opposite direction.

"That would be nice, but I have to stay here and hope there's an attempt made to kidnap me."

"Other men have girlfriends with safe normal jobs," I couldn't help it, even though I knew she'd say no, supplying one excuse or another, it still pissed me off, and so I fell back on my usual disapproval of her job. "Like swallowing swords and getting shot out of a cannon." Okay so not exactly safe jobs, but neither was the job she had now.

I clicked my cell phone closed and thought seriously about tossing it across the room. If it hadn't been police issued, I probably would have. Instead, I threw it on the mattress and flopped back on the bed. I glanced briefly at it, knowing that I preferred someone a lot more substantial to be lying next to me. But no, I had to fall in love with the most independent, stubborn, and danger magnet woman around.

Stephanie Plum attracted everything that was bad like flies to dog crap. The usual rag tag degenerates she chases down while working for her sleaze ball of a cousin, I've come to realize I had no choice but to accept, not if I wanted to hold on to her. My stomach, however, was another story. Every time I saw her covered in garbage, or worse, I had to down a bottle of antacid. If only she had a normal job… I sighed. If she did, she wouldn't be the Stephanie Plum I knew and loved.

I slammed my hand down on the mattress. Fuck! What god did I piss off to deserve to be put through this Hell? I'm a Morelli. There was a time when I could have, and did have, any female I wanted. But not anymore, because of Stephanie I was no longer interested in other women. She'd wrapped her hand around my HEART and now I was stuck in the middle of a God damn sick and twisted triangle.

I hissed through my teeth as I thought about the bounty hunter. Manoso was at Stephanie's now. I knew it. She hadn't come out and told me in so many words, but I knew from our conversation the other day when I asked if she was harboring a fugitive. I knew. Seeing them on the street, today, together, only confirmed it. And I'd bet a month's salary he wasn't sleeping on the damn couch.

It made my BLOOD boil knowing that he probably had a good laugh at my expense this afternoon. If he thought my threat was an empty one, he'd better find a really good rock to crawl under, because so help me if he makes her betray my trust, he won't have to worry about Scrog. I'll get him long before that psychopath does, and I'll take out any one of his black clad bodyguards who gets in my way.

Why Steph can't see Manoso for who he really is, drives me insane. The man has no morals or scruples about crossing the lines when it comes to another man's woman. Then there was the fact that he was constantly putting her in danger. Letting her do distractions in shithole bars, helping him bring in the most dangerous of scum.

And now he had her smack dab in the middle of the worst kind of trouble, and all because of him. He had to be loving this. Stephanie was his willing slave, and he'd even thrown his daughter into the mix. I bet that was just the icing on the cake. A young girl in trouble was just the kind of thing that pulled Steph further into something.

Did he even bother to think before he dragged her out of town, on some personal errand? Did it even occur to him that he's a wanted man, with someone even more unstable than himself running around truly believing he's the dangerous bounty hunter? Every Joe Blow, wanna-be-bounty hunter is out there trying to capture Manoso, and my girlfriend's leading them around by the nose. And what was with this Scrog joker. What was so cool about Manoso anyway? What the Hell did everyone see in him?

I should just march over there right now, drag Manoso's ass out of her apartment in chains, and lock him behind BARS and throw away the key. I laughed out loud. Like steel bars could hold him, he'd be out in seconds. God damn magician.

I so wanted to HATE that man. But every time I think he's finally crossed the line, he goes and does something that makes me grateful to him. He's always watching out for her when I can't.

That's the part about this whole twisted affair that sucks the most. We both have Stephanie's best interests at heart. Our ways of going about it are just entirely different. And the fact that Stephanie's helping Manoso now, I can't really blame him, as much I really want to. An INNOCENT little girl's life is at stake, which is the only reason I haven't brought him in. Julie has to come first. Okay, so I'm as much a sucker for helping out the kids as Stephanie is. One of the motivations I'd had to become a cop in the first place.

Although the idea of having the book thrown at Manoso would bring me great pleasure; plus it would have the added bonus of keeping him away from Stephanie, at least for a little while. But then, that would only piss her off, and probably have her breaking up with me for good and running right into his bed. Or we could just fight and then make up – that was always something to look forward to.

What I really wanted her to do was get as far away from Manoso as possible. I didn't care if she worked, just somewhere safer would be preferable, and someplace where Manoso didn't feel like he had an obligation to watch out for her. She was my woman, for Christ's sake, and I'm the only one she should ever have to turn to for help.

As I thought the words, I realized what an ass I was. I may not use my fists on women or run around on them like the rest of the men in my family, but I wasn't really any better than they were. What was I, a caveman? My woman! Ha! What was wrong with me, always trying to get Stephanie to take a safer job, be something she's not?

I was the product of my upbringing and I wasn't happy about it. I'd spent my whole life trying to do everything I could to break out of that 'Morelli Men' mold. But I guess no matter how hard you try, your upbringing tends to rub off on you.

I rolled over on my side and sighed at the empty pillow beside me. Steph's scent still lingered from the last time she'd spent the night. Which seemed like ages ago to me, but in reality had only been a few days. Maybe the only way to get her to stay with me for more than a night or two was to break my leg again.

I laughed at the absurdity of that statement. For two reasons, one that it seemed to be a Plum family tradition to break my leg, and the second because it had put me out of commission for too long. But it did seem ironic that both times my leg had been broken, someone from Stephanie's family had been responsible. First, Stephanie ran me over soon after she'd left high school; she'd been getting her revenge on me for having stolen her virginity in a not so romantic way. Then, a few months back during the whole Stiva mess, Steph's Grandma Mazur was driving my SUV, chasing Stiva around the funeral home, and I happened to get in their path.

Steph pretty much moved in with me after the incident with Stiva. Of course, I was so consumed with boredom and annoyance at being incapacitated – at least as far as walking, that I didn't have the best of attitudes. While I'd never admit it to anyone but myself, I did become a world-class jerk. I took Steph for granted more than anything, and fell back on some of my Morelli roots; the 'sitting around the house eating pizza and drinking beer with the guys' trait.

So much so that one afternoon she'd come home covered in trash and dirt and what did I do after I'd asked what happened, not stumble over and help her get cleaned up, no I asked her to get me a beer. She'd obviously had a pisser of a day, and I treated her like the little wife. I admit whole-heartedly that a large reason for my attitude had been because my cousin Mooch and my brother Tony had been there, and any display of true affection by a Morelli man, well that was grounds for ridicule and even disownment. Okay maybe not quite as far as being kicked out of the family, but it did make ribbing at family gatherings a definite.

But despite all that, Steph stuck with me, and I have to admit, while I couldn't use my leg, our activities in the bedroom seemed only to increase. Of course that had a lot to do with some pact she'd made with her mother to give up sugar. She had to replace the sugar with something, and that something was sex. Not that I minded – too much, except I got less sleep during that time than on my longest stakeouts.

Steph should know that I'm not like the other men in my family, or at least I'm pretty sure she does. Of course, the green-eyed monster rears its head whenever Terri Grizzolli, my high school girlfriend and now sometime mob informant, comes up. Funny how it's okay for her to hang around with Manoso, and even let him stay at her apartment, but I spend one minute alone with Terri and I'm the one cheating.

Then again, it has to be a female thing, or the fact that I do have my father and brothers and cousins to thank for the Morelli reputation of sleeping around on their wives. That is something I would never do. I haven't been in a barroom brawl or drunken stupor since before I entered the Police Academy. All in all I'd say I've done a fairly good job of it breaking away from the Morelli mold. At least I had until Stephanie rolled back into my life.

And reappear she did, with a vengeance, I might add; though not quite like she did the time she ran over me with her father's car. No this was determination like I'd never seen in her or any Burg women, for that matter. I'd been falsely accused of murder, and she was trying to bring me in as an FTA, since I'd had her cousin Vinnie bond me out. But I'd had to clear my name before I appeared in court.

And not only did she end up bringing me in, but she also helped clear my name. There's a very good chance that if she hadn't gotten involved, I might be behind bars now. Then again, she got herself into a hell of a lot of trouble and almost got herself killed in the process. Like that should surprise me. Why should her first job with Vinnie be any different than any of the other jobs she's done for her cousin?

The woman is a danger magnet. Even her simple FTA cases turn into life threatening situations. Then there's her apartment. No matter what kind of lock or security system she's given, every dweeb, lowlife and bumbling burglar breaks in. I'd love to have her move in with me, if for no other reason than to give her a safer place to live. Yet, trouble follows her. Maybe, it's one of the reasons I haven't really forced that issue.

Aside from the fact that she starts getting hives after staying for more than a few days, when she's here, even my house is far from safe. Molotov cocktails fly through the window and inner-city gangs have no qualms about spray-painting graffiti on my property, despite the fact that I'm a cop.

But in spite of all that, I love her. There's no getting around it. And no matter how much she protests against the idea of marriage, one day, when I know she's really ready, I will propose for real, and not just in the heat of the moment. I want to be able to show her what being married should really be like. Her short stint with Dickie Orr shouldn't count. But in her mind it does, even though the marriage went up shit's creek in under a month because she'd caught him cheating on her with her worst enemy, on the dining room table.

Her aversion to marriage also stems from her own Burg upbringing. I realize that. To get married in the Burg, well you're doomed to be the 'little woman', with dinner at exactly six o'clock, and waiting on your family hand and foot. I don't think either one of us would be happy if Steph did that. She needs her own life, maybe something not as dangerous, but I've done my best to hold my tongue recently on that subject, at least most of the time. It's waste of breath. So we move out of the Burg. We live close enough for an easy commute to work, and yet far enough that we're not under our families' thumbs.

But first I had to do something about Manoso. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realized that, at this very moment, he was undoubtedly getting all nice and cozy with my girlfriend, in her apartment. That had to stop. First thing tomorrow, I was going to pack a bag, and drop it off on my way into work. If Manoso was going to stay with her, well then so the Hell was I. She was my girl, and I wanted to make sure they both knew that.

I trusted Steph, to a point. However, whenever Manoso was around, her judgment became extremely impaired. While I knew she'd never intentionally cheat on me… I shook my head and climbed off the bed. Fuck it, I was going to pack now. Then I'd get a good night's sleep and be on her doorstep at the crack of dawn.

As I made my way over to the closet to get my duffel bag, my cell rang. Maybe it was Steph telling me she'd changed her mind and couldn't take another minute alone with Ranger. That would mean no packing and no moving in. But as I picked up the phone from where I'd thrown it on the bed, I cursed. It was the station. Deciding to let it go to voicemail, I made my way back to my closet and began throwing items on to the bed to be packed.

When I was sure I had enough to last me a few days, I grabbed my duffel bag, and just as I began tossing my clothes inside my cell vibrated, reminding me that I had a message to listen to. Better to hear it now, rather than be surprised in the morning. I cursed as I listened to my Captain giving me a new assignment. And fuck if it wasn't over Valentine's. Great, here I was trying to fight for my girl, and the department was sending me off on an undercover assignment during the most romantic holiday of the year.

Well, I'd have to find a way to make it up to her, and I'd start as soon as this whole mess with Manoso was cleared up. At least that was one thing to be thankful for; the department wasn't sending me away immediately. I'd at least be able to see this thing with Scrog and Manoso through to the bitter end. And I'll make sure for myself that Steph comes out of this one alive, and not have to rely on other people's reports, or leave her life solely in the hands of Manoso. Not that I haven't done that before, but this time was different, and maybe why the whole thing was getting to me.

She's been in danger before, but this is the first time my gut was telling me that this psycho was more dangerous than anyone she's ever been up against, even Ramirez. I put my now full duffel bag on the floor and pushed the dark thoughts to the far corners of my mind. After the last few days, I needed a restful night's sleep. All thoughts of Stephanie, Scrog and Manoso would have to wait until the morning.

Starting at first light, I was going to be there for her. And I was going to find a way to let her know that I wasn't going to go away without a fight. Fighting back a yawn, I lay back on my pillow. But I'd save all that for tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow would be a brand new day, in more ways than one.

**Fin**

**To be continued at the end of Chapter 14 of Twelve Sharp**


End file.
